KUALA LUMPUR: Sedan, unlike SUV, is a declining segment but it is still a significant portion of the country's thriving automotive industry, a senior motoring specialist said.
Hence, the all-new S70 is a crucial addition to Proton Holdings Bhd's line-up as the national carmaker has not had a large sedan for quite some time.
"Although sedan is a declining market, it is still a significant portion of the total industry volume and equally important, it represents a market that is not served by the national brand," Shamsul Yunos of Fast TV said.
He was commenting on the soon-to-be-launched S70, seen as Proton and Malaysia's answer to the dominance of Japan's Honda Civic and Toyota Altis in the C segment of the local automotive market.
The S70 is the first all-new sedan to be introduced by the brand since the Persona was introduced in August 2016, and before that, the Perdana.
The first unit of the new sedan rolled off the production line at Proton's Tanjung Malim plant in Perak on Thursday.
Ahead of its official launch this year, the S70 will go on tour with customer previews set to take place in major state capitals from Nov 11.
The proper positioning of the S70 will play a significant role in its market success, said Shamsul, who was also editor of the New Straits Times' Cars, Bikes and Trucks.
"The naming suggests that it is of equal calibre to the Proton X70 and from this we can imagine that the pricing will have significant overlap with the SUV.
"However, being a sedan, it is likely that the pricing will be more competitive compared to the SUV which will likely begin slightly below the entry level variant of the X70 and stop short of the flagship's asking price," he noted.
Looking at the interior design, Shamsul said the S70 is clearly being marked as a premium product for the Proton brand.
Features such as sunroof, electronic park brake, wireless charging pad, full digital driver display and level two adaptive cruise control will make it easier to compete with the non-national offerings.
"The large touch screen centre display will likely come with voice command, which is becoming an appreciated premium feature.
"Meanwhile, the rear passengers are pampered with decent legroom and rear air conditioning, making this suitable for official government car with driver."
Shamsul believes that the S70 will be a great booster for Proton in bolstering the brand's presence in government fleet.
"This car will likely start becoming commonplace in most government car parks in the not-too-distant future.
For Proton that will certainly be a reason to be proud," he added.